World Cup fever slows a workplace, but victory can still boost the economy

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This article was published 13/06/2010 (5957 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Even down on the Toronto stock market floor, amid a flurry of multimillion-dollar trades, the TVs are tuned into the World Cup.

It’s just one effect of the planet’s biggest sports tournament, a month-long phenomenon that a U.K. study suggests could cost billions in lost productivity around the world.

Others challenge the notion. They argue the World Cup could actually benefit some economies — depending on which team wins and how much fans shell out for the celebration.

While there may be a debate about the economic bottom line, there is no disputing the soccer frenzy sweeping across workplaces as people around the world return to the office Monday.

In Honduras, the government is giving 200,000 public employees time off during the tournament to watch the national team play. Politicians have even urged private businesses to follow their lead.

In Canada, a senior strategist for TD predicted international productivity would dip during World Cup matches.

Millan Mulraine couldn’t think of any empirical research done on the topic but, last Friday, with many TVs on the Toronto trading floor showing soccer, he expressed confidence about his hunch.

“In this environment normally you would be watching business news,” Mulraine said.

“But given that the World Cup is on now live, I think that’s what everyone’s tuned into . . . even at work.

“I’ve taken a few glances at it while working, so I can testify to the fact that, yes, productivity will likely decline during events.”

A director at Scotia Capital in Toronto told the Wall Street Journal that many traders took Friday off to watch the start of the tournament. The paper reported that during Friday’s games the New York trading volume was at its lowest point in two months.

“Today never really got going, so I think the market was a little more focused on the football than it would be on a normal day,” said Steve Butler, director of foreign exchange.

In the soccer-mad U.K., more than 50 per cent of 687 managers surveyed last month by the Chartered Management Institute worry their employees may be distracted by discussions about the World Cup.

The institute estimates that lost hours of productivity could cost over $1.4 billion — to the British economy alone.

But opinion is mixed.

The Dutch bank ING predicts that a strong performance by the Netherlands would even help that country’s ailing economy through boosted sales for booze, food and the team’s orange apparel.

At the same time, ING concedes that one in nine people in the country are planning to watch games at work, which would result in a loss of more than a million work hours.

Mulraine agrees a deep run into the tournament could just as easily kick off a jump in productivity.

“Depending on the outcome, euphoria can cause someone to get more excited or cause someone to work harder,” he said.

“It can also fall even if you win because you spend a lot more time talking about it or celebrating that win.

“So in the end it could be a wash.”

Montreal soccer fan Christian Bute skipped work Friday at an electronics company.

Clad in a green Mexico jersey, Bute watched the Mexicans tie South Africa in the morning and then saw France play Uruguay in the afternoon at a bar.

“My boss had no complaints about it because she knew how important this was for me,” said Bute, who plans to follow most games online from his desk at work.

Even if workers are surfing for results and chatting about games, he sees the South African tournament as the perfect morale-boost at the office.

“I think it’s a motivating factor because any sport brings an energy to people (and) that makes them more productive in a way,” said Bute, whose favourite team, Romania, didn’t qualify for the World Cup.

“The fever’s on and we’re going to do the best we can to get the best out of the World Cup.”